Residents across Ceiriog Valley turn out in force to save under threat primary school

Almost 100 residents from villages and hamlets throughout the Ceiriog Valley attended a public meeting last week to show their determination to save a local primary school under threat of closure.

The 110 year-old Ysgol Pontfadog primary school in the heart of the Ceiriog Valley was issued with a Statutory Notice of Closure last month.

Currently there are three schools within the Federation, one Welsh medium in Ysgol Llanarmon, one English medium in Ysgol Pontfadog and one dual stream in Ysgol Cynddelw.

However Wrexham Council say there has been a drop in pupil numbers at both Ysgol Pontfadog and Ysgol Cynddelw schools due to a “growing Welsh medium demand in the valley”.

A consultation process on the future of the Federation schools in the valley was carried out by Wrexham Council last year and sought views on the following three options:

– Retain the status quo with all three schools remaining as they are currently.
– Change language designation at Ysgol Cynddelw to Welsh medium.
– Propose closure of Ysgol Pontfadog and re-locate pupils to the Cynddelw dual stream site.

Over 250 initial objections to the proposals contained in the Ceiriog Valley Schools Federation Consultation were received by Wrexham Council.

Hundreds more formal letters of objection to the closure and impact on the community of Pontfadog were signed at the public meeting and are expected to flood in to Wrexham Borough Council’s Head of Education and Executive Board members over the next few days before the objections deadline of Tuesday 22nd May.

Last month Lead Member for Education, Cllr Phil Wynn, noted that most adults and children who participated in the consultation process had “expressed preference for keeping the status quo” and that the proposed closure was an “emotive subject”.

However he added that this would result in “£1m maintaining the status quo for the benefit of a small number of children” and that “money I think would been better spent improving the other two sites”.

As a result it was recommended and backed by executive board members that a statutory notice of closure was served for the school – with the results of the process / final decision on Ysgol Pontfadog’s future set to be made at July’s meeting.

The school, which is the only English medium school in the valley, now faces closure in July 2019

However campaigners fighting to keep Ysgol Pontfadog open have branded Wrexham Council’s consultation process as “flawed”.

Last week a packed Oliver Jones Memorial Hall heard from specialist schools Mediation Barrister, Jackie Whelan, Councillor Trevor Bates who represents Ceiriog Valley and Glyntraian Community Councillor, Cllr Jools Payne, on what they say are “failures which Wrexham Council Education Officers presided during what was described as an illegal, irrational and disproportionate consultation process”.

They argue that that there was: “Failure to notify key stakeholders of the Consultation in advance – including Glyntraian Community Council in whose jurisdiction Ysgol Pontfadog falls – as well as missing Impact Assessment documents, Estyn feedback, delays in the provision of material information on financial costs of improvements to increase provision at Ysgol Cynddelw and an Education Department officer giving misleading information to the Council’s Executive Board in Chamber provoked anger and dismay amongst the Council Tax payers of the Ceiriog Valley.”

Cllr Bates said: “We have tried to negotiate with the council leadership, but they are simply not listening. It indicates a lack of respect for those of us involved in the outcomes.

“The feelings of the staff, pupils, parents and community have been ignored throughout the whole process, during which the LEA have been sadly lacking in their duty of care.

“We should not allow ourselves to be treated with contempt as illustrated by the Consultation document, ignoring the wishes of the vast majority of residents and indeed, those of the Federation Governing Board.”

Local bee breeder and historian, Kirsty Williams, who co-authored a history of Ysgol Pontfadog as part of the school’s centenary celebrations in 2008 and launched her educational bee DVD at the school in 2016, said: “It was the largest turn out of the community I have seen in years, such is the strength of feeling across the entire valley about protecting the unique nature and special character of rural primary education.”